Forester Bob Zybach warned decades ago that environmental regulations and less logging would make fires worse.

The Trump administration is doing more active management of lands, but is it enough?

Bob Zybach feels like a broken record. Decades ago he warned government officials allowing Oregon’s forests to grow unchecked by proper management would result in catastrophic wildfires.

While some want to blame global warming for the uptick in catastrophic wildfires, Zybach said a change in forest management policies is the main reason Americans are seeing a return to more intense fires, particularly in the Pacific Northwest and California where millions of acres of protected forests stand.

“We knew exactly what would happen if we just walked away,” Zybach, an experienced forester with a PhD in environmental science, told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Zybach spent two decades as a reforestation contractor before heading to graduate school in the 1990s. Then the Clinton administration in 1994 introduced its plan to protect old growth trees and spotted owls by strictly limiting logging.

Zybach told Evergreen magazine that year the Clinton administration’s plan for “naturally functioning ecosystems” free of human interference ignored history and would fuel “wildfires reminiscent of the Tillamook burn, the 1910 fires and the Yellowstone fire.”

Between 1952 and 1987, western Oregon only one major fire above 10,000 acres. The region’s relatively fire-free streak ended with the Silver Complex Fire of 1987 that burned more than 100,000 acres in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area, torching rare plants and trees the federal government set aside to protect from human activities. The area has burned several more times since the 1980s.

“Mostly fuels were removed through logging, active management — which they stopped — and grazing,” Zybach said in an interview. “You take away logging, grazing and maintenance, and you get firebombs.”

Now, Oregonians are dealing with 13 wildfires engulfing 185,000 acres. California is battling nine fires scorching more than 577,000 acres, mostly in the northern forested parts of the state managed by federal agencies.

The Mendocino Complex Fire quickly spread to become the largest wildfire in California since the 1930s, engulfing more than 283,000 acres. The previous wildfire record was set by 2017’s Thomas Fire that scorched 281,893 acres in Southern California.

While bad fires still happen on state and private lands, most of the massive blazes happen on or around lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies, Zybach said. Poor management has turned western forests into “slow-motion time bombs,” he said.

“If we can’t manage our forests, what the hell?” Zybach told TheDCNF.

Is It Global Warming?

The rash of massive fires has reignited the debate over how best to handle wildfires. Experts agree that a century of fire suppression caused forests to become overgrown and filled with dead wood and debris that easily ignites in dry summer heat.

However, there’s disagreement over whether or not global warming has exacerbated western wildfires. Some scientists, those often quoted in the news, link global warming to a longer wildfire season and more intense heat.

California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown said bigger wildfires were part of a “new normal” because of global warming. People will just have to adapt to it, the governor said while touring the destruction left by the Carr Fire.

But attributing wildfires to man-made warming is trickier than many scientists let on given the myriad of factors that determine the intensity of fires.

“Global warming may contribute slightly, but the key factors are mismanaged forests, years of fire suppression, increased population, people living where they should not, invasive flammable species, and the fact that California has always had fire,” University of Washington climate scientist Cliff Mass told TheDCNF.

Mass also noted there hasn’t been much warming in the Pacific Northwest, adding that natural weather patterns in California prime the state for wildfires every year no matter what.

“Many of the media and some politicians has been pushing a false narrative: that the fires are mainly about global warming. They are not,” Mass said in an email. Mass also criticized politicians and the media for trying to make last year’s wildfire season about global warming.

Zybach also doesn’t buy that global warming is exacerbating fires. Through his research, Zybach analyzed thousands of official documents, reports and first-hand accounts of wildfire activity going back hundreds of years. His conclusion: wildfire season hasn’t changed much.

“To say there’s been another change, other than management, is just grasping at straws,” Zybach said.

What has changed is land management. For example, declines in timber production on federal lands, particularly in the Northwest, not only meant the death of a once vibrant industry, but also an end to thinning, controlled burns and other activities meant to keep forest growth in check.

Wildfire experts have also increasingly been pointing to the fact that more people and infrastructure are located in wildfire-prone areas than in the past, increasing the risk of wildfires impacting livelihoods.

A recent study found the number of homes at risk of wildfires in the western U.S. increased 1,000 percent since 1940, from about 607,000 in 1940 to 6.7 million. Since most fires are ignited by humans, the more people in fire-prone areas the higher the risk.

“This is a people problem,” said U.S. Geological Survey fire expert Jon Keeley. “What’s changing is not the fires themselves but the fact that we have more and more people at risk.”

Ticking Forest Fire Bombs

The Klondike Fire is one of several fires raging in southern Oregon, igniting more than 30,000 acres of protected forest and covering nearby towns with smoke and ash.

The nearby Taylor Fire has engulfed more than 41,000 acres, including protected woods. Officials are worried the two fires could combine.

The Klondike and Taylor fires are the fourth and fifth major blazes to burn through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest since 1987 when the Silver Complex Fire burnt up more than 100,000 acres.

The Siskiyou National Forest encompasses 1.8 million acres in northern California through southwestern Oregon. The park also encompasses the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, which was created by Congress in 1964 to protect the rare plant life in the region.

However, before the Silver fire, you have to go back to the 1930s to find a comparable fire, according to Forest Service figures. Fires are labeled “complex” when two or more combine.

Oregon, like much of the western U.S., was ravaged by massive wildfires in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl drought. Megafires were largely contained due to logging and policies to actively manage forests, but there’s been an increasing trend since the 1980s of larger fires.

Active management of the forests and logging kept fires at bay for decades, but that largely ended in the 1980s over concerns too many old growth trees and the northern spotted owl. Lawsuits from environmental groups hamstrung logging and government planners cut back on thinning trees and road maintenance.

Zybach said Native Americans used controlled burns to manage the landscape in Oregon, Washington and northern California for thousands of years. Tribes would burn up to 1 million acres a year on the west coast to prime the land for hunting and grazing, Zybach’s research has shown.

“The Indians had lots of big fires, but they were controlled,” Zybach said. “It’s the lack of Indian burning, the lack of grazing” and other active management techniques that caused fires to become more destructive in the 19th and early 20th centuries before logging operations and forest management techniques got fires under control in the mid-20th Century.

What Will Trump Do?

In a recent tweet, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke blamed the “overload of dead and diseased timber in the forests makes the fires worse and more deadly.” the secretary called for more active management of forests to reduce fuel loads.

President Donald Trump signed legislation in March to prevent federal agencies from using forest management funding to pay for fire suppression, but that’s only a partial fix. Federal agencies need to be given more flexibility to clear forests of debris and lessen fuel loads.

The Forest Service planned to treat and clear more vegetation and harvest more timber than in 2017 to prevent fuel build-up. But that’s only happening on a fraction of the 193 million acres managed by federal foresters. Zybach said more needs to be done to get fuel loads down and reduce wildfire risks.

“It would make our forests safe and beautiful again and would create jobs,” Zybach said.

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I continue to see articles that offer good advice about prepping, But survive extreme cold winter is education, training, and skill. Barricading yourself in the home for defense or Bugging out! Yes, Fine. The more you have and can do works, but you and I have different meanings of the word. My transportation breaks down 40 miles from somewhere in snow/ice 20 degrees, and 30+ winds…. is a nice, but inconvenient adventure. I wish to tell a story, and make a “comedy media” about it. Not funny when you hear/see people die, but fantastic if you can learn for when you need it.

Prepping by definition means taking proactive steps to get ready. We prepare for situations to happen. We prepare to have food for our family if the grocery stores are closed or sold out due to shortages or looting. We prepare to provide water for our family if the tap water is undrinkable due to pollution. We prepare for economic collapse by having precious metals and cash stored in places we can access even if the banks close. We prepare so we have what we need when we need it.

But some disasters catch you off guard. In this article we learn how to survive with just the clothes on your back. There are some cases where we don’t have our Bug Out bags with us at the moment. There are times when we don’t have our EDC gear because as much as we hate to admit it, sometimes we walk out the door unprepared. This could be for all manner of reasons and I want to stress that we should limit this type of oversight as much as possible, but it still happens. Survival isn’t only guaranteed to those who have the latest prepper gear. Your mindset will take you further than the coolest survival knife in the world and today we are going to talk about how to survive with only the real everyday items you have with you. When you roll out the door and go out for a walk, the stuff you’re wearing can still assist you. It could be the difference between life or death in a survival situation. Here’s how to make the most of what you’ve got when SHTF.

Watch

It’s important to stay connected and maintain access to valuable information. A smart watch like the Samsung Gear 2 can do just that. It can also guide you in the right direction when disaster strikes because it can give you access to GPS navigation.

Even if you don’t have a smartwatch, your regular watch can help you in the wild just as well. You can use your wristwatch as an orienteering device to find your way. Hold your watch horizontally and point its hour hand at the sun. Bisect the angle between its hour hand and the 12 o’clock mark to get the north to south line. If you are doubtfully determining which end of the line is actually north, remember, the sun rises in the east, sets in the west and is south at noon.

Shoelaces

The laces on your shoes can be used when you need rope or string. They also can be used to create a fire, a lifesaving essential in the wild. Using nothing but your shoelaces, sticks and some wood, you can start a fire with the bow-and-drill method. Use your lace to create the part of the bow that’s used to be tied around the drill. It will help keep everything in place while you’re sawing to create a hot fire.

Flashlight

Having a good tactical flashlight on your person can save you if you get lost in the woods, and it sure makes for a great signaling device. When SHTF you probably won’t be using your flashlight to signal for help, but you can use it in other ways.

Animals are typically scared away with a flash in the eyes from a flashlight. And in a disaster situation like a fire or earthquake, you can find your way out of a dark building. Choose a LED flashlight to add to your everyday carry. They are much better than the cheap incandescent ones and the battery life is much longer.

Belt

Your belt can come in handy when you’re braving the wilderness in more ways than one. Use your belt to bundle firewood, making it easier to carry from point A to point B. If you get injured, use it as a tourniquet. The small metal prong or buckle can be put to good use if you need a weapon or hook because it can be sharpened and molded.

Shirt

You need water to survive, but safe, drinkable water may be in short supply when the apocalypse hits. It’s not likely that your water purification system is part of your everyday carry, but your shirt can make a good substitute. Filtering water through fabric is actually more common around the world than you might think. Use your shirt or other piece of clothing (woven fabrics work the best) to remove the color and particles out of water. However, this will not eliminate viruses or illness, so always boil your water after filtering it.

So while I think we all can agree that nobody should be going for a hike into the wilderness without the proper preparation, sometimes you have to use what you have. I try to have my EDC with me every single place I go, but sometimes, my outfit choice doesn’t allow it. If I am in athletic attire, I don’t have my concealed firearm on my hip, my multi-tool and large flashlight. I don’t have a bandanna either just to name a few. I do have a source of fire and a light on my key-chain and my car, which is always near has a full selection of gear including my Get Home Bag.

Would you be able to sustain your loved ones when all hell brakes loose? Inthis video,I will unearth a long-forgotten secret that helped our ancestors survive famines, wars, economic crises, diseases, droughts, and anything else life threw at them… a secret that will help you do the same for your loved ones when America crumbles into the ground. I’m also going to share with youthree old lessonsthat will ensure your children will be well fed when others are rummaging through garbage bins.Watch the video below to learn all about the 3 skills that will help you thrive in any crises situation:

Stepping out the door without the tools you count on is taking a risk, but we weigh those with the situation. Even if you have nothing but the clothes on your back, you can survive. As long as you keep your head.

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Yesterday, The Common Sense Showissued a breaking news alert as to the possible use of multiple IED type of devices based upon the reports of a highly credible source(s). The Common Sense Show is pleased to announce that arrests have been made in conjunction with this event and eventually I will be able to provide more details.

#1 If you get stuck in a riptide, remain calm and swim parallel to the shore; if you swim towards the shore, you will tire faster.

Before we get any further, let’s understand what riptides are. Firstly, they are not so much tides as currents; secondly, these currents move from the shore to the sea with startling rapidity and are powerful enough to drag an unsuspecting person with them. Statistics indicate that 80% of all open-water rescue attempts are because of riptides, which claim over 100 lives every year.

Many households prepare for emergency cases such as disasters and earthquakes by organizing food and storage supplies that they will use for their survival. The power of the nature is impressive and we have passed through many hurricanes, snow storms and tornadoes to be aware of the fact that we need to take precautions if we want to protect our families and pets when use this food and water supplies.